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Comment by jancsika | Hacker News Reader

> While the reality is, it takes effort to communicate and drains energy for everyone.

This is a low effort take that depends on the ambiguity of language to sound true.

"Drain" for the author apparently means literally using up a finite amount of human energy, concentration, and willpower. That's a truism.

"Drain" for an introvert can mean anything from starting a muscle tension clock that will eventually cause a headache to a straight-up panic attack that could take hours/days to recover from.

It's probably even worse for young people who are introverts and haven't been taught how to say no or set boundaries. (I remember explaining to some college-age people that saying no is a skill, and they looked at me like I had just revealed to them that, with enough practice, humans can actually fly.)

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> "Drain" for an introvert can mean anything from starting a muscle tension clock that will eventually cause a headache to a straight-up panic attack that could take hours/days to recover from.

Unless you are being hyperbolic with your usage of the word "panic attack", having one during social events is not "being an introvert," it's a medical condition.

I am an introvert and have also had unrelated panic attacks. Panic attacks effectively paralyze you, you feel a deep and uncontrollable sense of doom, often accompanied by palpitations. Sometimes you feel like you can't breathe.

If caused by social interaction, that's not a normal thing to experience, even for introverts. That is in the territory of actual medical issues: panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, etc.

Absolutely bizarre that you're being downvoted. Having panic attacks is not a normal reaction to any normal human situation, gp absolutely should look for medical and psychological help.

So if the person has, let’s say, autism, and will not be able to endure this for longer than a few hours before becoming completely overwhelmed.

What do you want these people to do, since they aren’t allowed to respond how they might do? When and where are they welcome in society?

Hello, person with autism here. If I am tasked with social interaction for too many hours I may no longer be able to focus on people. I may zone out and in order to get into focus someone may have to bother me in an uncomfortable way. This could, depending on the person who is on the autism spectrum, escalate to physical violence in an extreme scenario.

I don’t think this describes “a panic attack”. I think “completely overwhelmed” is a real thing to be accommodated and is separate from a social anxiety triggered panic attack

Absolutely. Just wanted to point out that having difficulty being in a social and potentialy rowdy and loud environment for hours can still remain after the "seek psych/medical help" advice that was thrown out!

It's a normal reaction to trauma, a psychological condition - not medical. I'd guess that's where the strife is driven. You make a better point to cover the gamut

Panic attacks, especially as described by the OP (caused by normal situations, takes "days to recover"), likely fall within the realm of psychiatric care instead of mere psychological care, so I would argue they are a medical issue in this case.

Understandable. I didn't really want to pick on this much more than it had been, already

I can't anticipate and make every argument, despite everyone on the internet trying.

I have them, I'm autistic. It happens and I have support infrastructure in place to make it less intrusive.

It's a disability, but I sorta reject the framing that I'm "not normal". Mostly because it feels a bit more culturally loaded? I can't articulate it effectively, but like, what I experience may actually be extremely normal ... for folks with autism. So, maybe "not neurotypical", maybe?

Sure, but I'm commenting on the fact that gp believes that having panic attacks in social interactions is just an introvert trait. Parent comment and I are arguing that it's not.

> haven't been taught how to say no or set boundaries

For more than a few of my friends, assertiveness and confrontation are incredibly unnatural and stressful for them. For some people saying no and setting boundaries isn't easy for them to learn: I'm not sure I've ever seen it taught. One socially skilled friend got a swor serious panic attack from having to try and be assertive.

You are implicitly accepting people can be introverted, but imply that people can just learn to say no.

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